I Leave You To Wonder
by x.listentothepetals.x
Summary: Basically Starfire wakes up one day to find that she has memories of the Titans and her life, but none of it seems to have really existed. This follows her journey to find her friends and whatever sinister force is behind this. [Update 1.10 Chapter 14 up]
1. I Leave You To Wonder

_OK, I dedicate this first story to my friend RoseXxxXThorn. READ HER STORIES!!! Originally Raven was going to be the main character, but I made it Starfire because that's Rose's fav. character. Oh, and I know it seems really boring now, but it'll get more exciting I PROMISE!!!_

_ .x.listentothepetals.x. _

* * *

What if all you knew was wrong? What if all your photographs were merely ashes in the wind, and your memories were seeping from your mind like sand in your cupped hand? 

_I remember everything in such detail, how can this all be wrong?_

Kori knew she'd had a life before this. How could she not? She'd had four amazing friends; Garfield, with his debonaire wit, Cy with his words of wisdom inbetween the comic antics, Raven, and her incredible foresight, knowledge, chinks in the armour... and Robin. Richard, not Ricky. Certainly not Dick. No, that wouldn't be respectful. She'd had nothing but respect for Richard. He was tough, yes, and when duty called he wouldn't take any lax behaviour, but inbetween the falshing red lights he was the one thing in this universe she could trust with anything and everything. Kori could still feel his ungloved hand running up her arm, the delicacy of his fingers, his breath on her neck...

_The sensation of removing that mask, his last shred of real armour._

But she'd woken up one day, and it was gone. She could still remember waking up, freezing and wet, behind that stinking silo, in jeans, a purple, sleeveless top and an auburn velvet jacket. All she owned. Kori would never forget the feeling that slowly started to fill her... the feeling of being enveloped in freexing water, until it finally reached her lungs. There was no T-shaped tower to the west. There was no communicator conveniently attached to her belt. There was nothing, in every sense of the word, that remained of her memories, except those memories themselves.

She'd been sick in that silo. She'd screamed into her jacket sleeves. She'd screamed until there was no oxygen left in her, and then she'd cried. She'd cried hot, salty tears, and gasped desperately during sobs. But there was Raven to hug her and make her tea. No Cyborg or BB to cheer her. No Robin to tell her it was just a dream, to tell her she was perfect. To remind her of the aura of beauty that surrounded her.

It was just a dream.

But how could it have just been a dream? Kori recalled a whole two years. She'd been 18 when someone had crept into the tower that night. She could remember everything that had happened since Raven had appeared in her dream, to when that cold shadow snuck into the tower. But it never happened.

She was 16 now. All she wore was all she owned. But as she walked now, through the park, the red leaves in the wind whipping her hair, she knew... she knew they were real. And she was going to find them.

* * *

R&R please. 


	2. Discovery

_Right, here's the next chapter. It's not very exciting, but it's pretty important. Enjoy, review and please don't tear it to pieces._

_I don't own Teen Titans _

_ .x.listentothepetals.x._

* * *

_What was the last thing she could remember? That was a good starting place, was it not?_

_It was dark. Of course. It was night-time, and it was raining. A flash of lightning awoke her from her imaginary sanctuary. She'd gotten up to get a glass of milk. Raven said that, when heated, it would help her sleep again. She'd walked into the kitchen... was there anyone there? Yes, but she hadn't known that yet. She walked to the fridge and opened it. That was the first odd thing she noticed. The light didn't turn on. It was broken. Someone had broken it. But that didn't make any sense... if her friends had broken it they would have replaced it. Or tried to hide it a little better. Lightning flashed again, sending shadows streaking across the floor, like someone had spilled ink, and the bottles were various pieces of furniture. Only... not all of the shadows were from furniture. Someone, or something, came hurtling towards her. She'd screamed like never before. It wasn't a startled-scream. It was a bloodcurdling one. Her throat felt like it was about to tear. Then white-hot pain spread across her face. She saw red, then black._

_Then the back of a silo, two years ago. But the present._

Kori collapsed infront of a pond. Leaves and bread littered the otherwise serene blue water. It was like someone had taken a Da Vinci masterpiece and flicked mud on it, to Kori. She could still remember telling Robin to appreciate the beauty around him, like reflections in lakes, and mothers cuddling babies. If anyone in the world appreciated natural beauty, it was Kori. How could anyone not, she thought. There was so much of it.

Tears filled her crystal green eyes. There was no-one to appreciate this with her now. Where could they be? Or was seeking them futile? How could it have all been a dream? But to look is all she could do now, and crying wouldn't help. She wiped the tears from her eyes and started walking.

"Excuse me, Miss, I am looking for someone. I can describe him, he has the black hair, pale skin and body of stregnth. He is quite well known. Can you help me"  
"No, I'm afraid not sweetheart. You might like try someone else."

So she'd never heard of Robin. Then she wouldn't know the other Titans either. So if they did exist, like she was almost sure of, they weren't famous.

_Wait. What was that?_

There was someone watching her from the shadows behind the oak tree. They didn't give off a creepy vibe, however. Instead, Kori felt like she was being observed by a child. Someone deeply curious. Should she wave, like she was inclined, or was this person really sinister? It was too late anyway, they'd seen her watching.

They started to walk towards her, and then their pace quickened. Kori knew only one person who owned blue jeans, a purple hoodie and bejeweled belt...

Kori didn't lunge at Raven, or even embrace her at all. They stood infront of eachother in shock. Raven's indigo eyes travelled all over Kori, as did Kori's over Raven.

"Oh my God."

Raven initiated the hug. It was odd, the feelings Kori felt that pulsed off her. She was desperate, and lonely, and happy too. Now that they were closer Kori saw that Raven's clothes were rather dirty, and her hair slightly greasy. Her boots were scuffed, her face devoid of eyeliner and her nails chewed.

"Where have you been? It's been months."

Raven breathed deeply after saying this, regaining her decorum. She frowned at the bewildered look on Kori's face.

"Months? I was in my bed last night at the tower, and now I'm here, as are you, but not our friends..."

Raven's frown seemed to change. It changed from a curious one, to one of worry and thought.

"Where did you wake up?"

"A bin of rubbish. Um... outside of one."

Raven ran her fingers through her hair, then clasped Kori's wrist.

"Come with me."

* * *

Raven paced around the silo, deep in thought. She had been for fifteen minutes. Kori was on the floor, watching her. Apparently, Raven had been dumped here two months ago, and had been looking for her, Kori, ever since. And the boys, of course. Why was there this big gap? Kori was sure she'd been in the tower the night before, she couldn't remember anything inbetween, but Raven was a walking contradiction. What was going on? 


	3. Instinct

Extra extra short, but I promise the next chapter is coming extra extra soon. Enjoy.

I don't own Teen Titans - .x.listentothepetals.x.

* * *

"Okay, so we've established that you've been somehere for the past two months, only... you don't know where."

Raven and Kori were both crouching in front of each other, beside the pungent silo. They'd been talking for an hour, or something like it. Neither of them had a watch, but it felt like an hour. They were truely lost in time. It didn't matter anyway, they weren't really dependent on time anymore. Raven was breathing deeply, Kori was sniffing. In between such exciting actions sudden brainwaves were expelled and forgotten. Then...

"The silo hasn't been emptied since you woke up, right?"

"Pardon... um, no, maybe. I am not sure. I do not think so."

"Great. I honestly have no idea whether that's a good thing or a bad thing..."

Raven grimaced, frowned, breathed deeply and held it in. This was followed by a short step and a high jump, then gagging on behalf of both girls.

"Oh God... gross. I'm never eating Chinese again."

Kori, being the glorious 6 ft she was, simply leaned over and carefully flicked up trash, like it burned the touch. Raven had to be content marinating in sweet and sour sauce, tea bags and God knows else what. Neither girl had any idea of what she was looking for. It was like looking for a needle in a haystack, but having no idea that you were looking for a needle. Just something. Anything.

* * *

After an hour of fondling take-out and bathing in the sour milk leaking from not-quite finished bottles, Raven and Kori were both quite ready to quit.

"Raven... there is nothing."

"Yeah, I kn..."

But there was something. Something was beeping, very, very softly. Raven's head turned, so slowly her neck even creaked. Where was it? There! In that mouldy, vile Slushee cup, a soft beeping sound and a faint flashing light. Raven's mouth slowly opened, and Kori felt her eyes involuntarily widen. A pause...

Then, Raven made a grab for it. She clasped it in her slender, filthy hand. It crackled. It was sphericle, with a little dome of glass at the end. Why did this seem so important?

"We must take this somewhere. We must find out what it is!"

"I know who. Come with me."


	4. Amélioration par la puissance

_Hey, new chapter. Enjoy it, and remember it. It's full of little clues and such. _

_Disclaimer - I don't own Teen Titans. _

_.x.listentothepetals.x._

* * *

"Jake!"

"Raven."

Kori stood watching this. Raven had met this man a while ago, during her first week back... why was she thinking "back"? Back from what? Anyway, Jake had chestnut hair, grey eyes... completely plain in every sense of the word. Looking at him, Kori felt... nothing. Or at least nothing she could register. It was like staring at a canvas and having absolutely no passion for art. He was a computer genius, and felt at home amongst micro-chips and silicon. Wait... how on earth did she know that?

"I need you to look at this. You know about this kind of stuff, right?"

"Right."

He was so insipid. His voice was... colourless. Kori began to feel aggravated. Everything about him was the opposite of her. She was bright, imaginative. She had volume, depth... expression. He was grey, and dull. Like a sink cloth. She was more like the flowers on the kitchen windowsill. The way he was speaking to Raven... it made her angry. He should be more interested in her. It would show more respect. Kori always made sure she offered everyone the respect they deserved, and took an interest in them. He was talking to Raven like she was as blank as he was. It was disrespectful!

"Here" Raven inhaled.

"I found it... near a... a... "

"Drain? It's wet."

"Yeah. A drain. Anyway, I need to know what it is."

Jake raised it to the light. He flipped it, turned it, stared, smashed, twisted, glared and even banged it. It didn't even scratch.

"I can honestly say whatever made this isn't a commercial company. This is beyond anything anyone's done, or even has on the drawing board."

"And it is...?"

Jake frowned at it a bit more, like doing so would give him a miraculous answer.

"It seems like a... " He took a deep breath.

_Hurry up and tell us_, thought Kori. She immediately pinched herself, discretely. Why was she being so hostile towards him? This wasn't like her!

"Okay, well... It's not a tracer. In fact... I don't think this is anything at all. It shouldn't even be beeping. There are no components in it, no chip, no wires. It has no seams. It doesn't even have a bulb! How it's blinking I can't explain." In a grey monotone, no more.

Kori turned her head toward Raven, then away. She was going to say something, then almost immediately forgot what. Since when?

"Tear it apart. See what made it"

"I'll try, but this thing looks hardy"

Again he started the monkey charade. Banging, slamming, picking, scratching.

_I would bet he is about to climb upon the table and scratch himself..._

This went on for 10 minutes. Raven shut her eyes and shoved her hands down her pockets, peach lips whispering something Kori couldn't here, but would love to guess. She herself was getting so impatient. Why, though? What was wrong with her? Was she a bad person, or just a normal one? She had been so good before, so was she now bad or mediocre, or still good? Why did she hate this dishcloth man so much?

"Well I can't open it. it's some kind of steel/titanium alloy. Nothing I have will open it"

"Mmm. Sta... Kori, hammer it"

Kori stared at Raven. Raven gave her a "Move it along" gesture with her head. Kori, keeping one eye on Raven, one eye on the hammer, wondered why Raven thought she, a skinny, weak marshmallow of a girl, would manage to break open this clearly inpenatrable device. She swung, hard, and smashed the top of the bulb. Nothing happened. But that was what was odd. The tip was glass. Why didn't it smash? And since when was she this strong? Her own power had frightened her a little.

"Nothing has happened"

"Kori, shh" Raven's eyes had widened.

Kori looked back at the device. Five fine seams were travelling from the tip down, right through the glass, through the metal. Then, it began to split open, like the transition from bud to flower. All three people stared at it, transfixed. It was...

"Completely hollow..."

_Yes, Jake. We are able to see that._

"That doesn't make any sense. Wait, is that an insignia?"

All that was inside the device was a small banner, with the words "_Amélioration par la puissance_" on it.

"Latin?" Jake asked.

"French" Raven and Kori answered in unison.

"Improvement through power... what kind of insignia is that?"

"We are to find out. Raven?"

"Yes"

This was going to help them find Beast Boy and Cyborg. And Robin. She knew it. No matter what happened to her, she needed to know that they were safe. And by the look upon Raven's face, Kori could see she was thinking the same.

* * *

It was an area of Jump City infamous for unsolved murders, nightly suicides and pushy drug dealers. Nowhere else in the city had they found this insignia, so if it wasn't here, it wasn't anywhere.

Kori kept near Raven. She knew she stuck out here. She was taller than nearly everyone, was wearing brighter clothes and was even thinner than the heroin addicts luring around corners. Raven seemed to fit right in, with her dark hair, dark clothes, dark eyes and hood up. The only thing missing was a slump, but Raven wouldn't slump if she were payed for it.

They knew what they were looking for. Tattoos, doors, clothes, anything with this insignia. So far nothing, but for some reason they felt like they were close. So close.

Then they saw it.

A man. Tall, and in a dark suit. He stuck out more than Kori did. But there, on the back of his neck, was a banner. Kori's clear, cat-like eyes could clearly see the words written on it, and Raven could tell by the look travelling across Kori's face. He turned into an alleyway.

"Get him" Raven whispered. They quickened their pace. They turned into the alleyway.

He was gone. But not without leaving a more than obvious little clue... the loud clank of a manhole cover.


	5. Nostalgia

_It's a short one, but an important one. Enjoy and review._

_Still don't own TT .x.listentothepetals.x._

* * *

It was dark. They may as well have been climbing down those rusted rungs with their eyes closed. And something was dripping right down past their ears, but they didn't want to know what.

_Splash. Squeak._

Kori's height had finally proved a disadvantage. She lept two feet too far and landed in a shallow pool of sewage.

"Urgh. Don't worry, that should... um... wash out. I hope" Raven landed, cat-like, on the narrow brick walkway. Luckily she wasn't the first one. A trail of shoe prints led from the ladder around the corner.

"Raven, look"

"Shh"

The shoe prints weren't the only clues he had left behind.

They began to sprint, following the splashes. The odd thing was, if he didn't want to be caught, why was he running in the sewage? The walk way never ended.

Then it clicked.

"Stop!" Raven almost screamed it.

"He wants to be caught!"

It was too loud. He stopped running. In fact, he began to make his way back, towards them.

"Oh God..."

"Must we run?"

"No"

He turned the corner, and faced them.

Every mouth dropped.

"I knew I knew that voice."

"That's impossible..."

Could it really be...? No, it couldn't. But it was. It really was.


	6. Confusion

_Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Titans._

_.x.listentothepetals.x. _

* * *

"Friend Cyborg!" 

"Cyborg? I'm not a cyborg... I'm Victor, remember? And you're Starfire. And Rae!"

"I am not Starfire. I am Kori. Kori Anders"

"Oh boy"

The three friends got closer. However, this strange little finding was more than enough to distance them.

"Um... Cy... Victor, who do you think we are, exactly?"

"Well, this may seem weird but, for the past two years of my life, you guys have been my friends"

"Elaborate. What did we do?"

Victor frowned. Why were they behaving so weirdly?

"We were engineers. Remember? We called Star that because she was so sparky. I know you as Katherine..." He faced Kori for that.

"And Rachel" He looked at Raven.

"Engineers? Friend... V..Victor, I have never known anything of engineering"

"And that's not what we remember..."

The friends looked at each other with dread upon their faces. Please let this be a joke.

"Victor, what do you do?"

"I... um, I just got a job today. I was supposed to lure two girls with purple and red hair, um... you guys, yeah, and, um, bring you down here"

"And you didn't find that creepy?"

"I really need the job. This is gonna sound weird, but basically after our engineering company shut down, I remember someone following me back to my apartment and clocking me one. The next thing I remember I'm lying behind a silo, no money, no apartment, it has literally disappeared, and these two guys (This is this morning, by the way) come up to me and say they'll hire me. They take me to this cafe, basically hire me and then tell me what to do"

"Then when did you get that tattoo?"

"What? I don't have... do I?"

Kori walked over and tapped the back of his neck.

"Here, friend Victor. It is a banner with "Improvement through Power" written upon it"

"Oh my God, Rachel, you have one too!"

Raven's haircut was cut specifically to allow her neck to remain visible. It was easy to maintain, and seeing as she _used_ to spend most of her time running around and getting sweaty it was very sensible. It also made visible a banner tattoo.

"What? No, I can't. Kori would've noticed"

"Actually you have had your hood up since I met you, friend Raven. I would not have noticed"

"Raven? Her name's not... oh yeah"

Raven ran her hand over it. This was her second tattoo... right? Or was everything she knew wrong? Kori lifted up her carpet of hair.

"Do I have an inked replica upon my neck, friends?"

She did. Clear as day. But this was so suspicious. Raven hitched up her jacket, making her back visible.

"Is there a bird there, I can't see"

"No... is there supposed to be?"

Raven covered her face with her hands and inhaled deeply. "Oh my God"

"Maybe you guys should come with me"

They began walking down the walk way, towards wherever Cyborg/Victor was supposed to take them.

"Kori, did you remember Victor being prosthetic?"

"Yes. Why is he not now?"

"We're going to find out, aren't we?"

* * *

R&R please 


	7. Nausea

_Very creepy if you let it get to you, and I'm sorry it took so long to update. Please enjoy and review._

_I don't own Teen Titans .x.listentothepetals.x. _

* * *

The re-united trio silently slushed through the sewer, flinching at the squeaks of rats and the foul stench. Around one corner, make a left turn, then a right turn... 

Then Kori heard a deep breath, or was it a sigh, come from Cyborg. No, Victor. This wasn't the boy she thought she knew.Or was he a man? She didn't know what his age was, and she had known him for two years. But she didn't. This was so confusing.

"Here we are. Maybe I should go first."

"No-one's stopping you."

The ground rose by about two feet, compared to the rest of the sewer, so the sewage was shallower, but Victor was standing above a man-hole in the ground. No matter how shallow the sewage was, it was still gonna drip down that hole as they climbed down it. Neither of the girls were against stalling that.

Victor lifted up the man-hole cover, causing a revolting slurping sound, then climbed inside into pure black.

Both Kori and Raven stood for several moments. They couldn't see anything, Victor had been completely shrouded in dark. It was somehow menacing, but unexplainably. Victor called out to them, but they couldn't hear him. It wasn't a scream though, so he was probably just telling them to come down. That's what they assumed anyway.

"That's it. We're not accomplishing anything up here" Raven began her descent down into the inky pool that lay beneath them.

Kori remained unnerved. Why was she feeling so threatened? It was so strong she thought she might actually be sick.

"Starfire!"

Kori stared down. Why Star Fire? Victor had called her that too, and now Raven just had. Why did they think she was this "Star Fire"? Or had she seen some star fire, whatever that was.

The curiosity present in all young people overcame the looming sense of dread inside her, much like how a child scared of the dark always looks under their bed anyway. Kori made her descent down the ladder.

She noticed something as she went down... with her eyes rendered useless she became more aware of the texture of the ladder beneath her fingers, and she realised that the further she descended the smoother the rungs became, like they were simple more maintained down at the bottom of the... wherever she was.

Suddenly, lights began to turn on. Floor lights, from under-ground. Victor had reached the bottom of the... something, and had probably switched on the lights.

_Clank._

So had Raven.

She only had a few rungs left to go. Then... _clank_. There she landed. She looked around. At first glance it looked like an empty room, but a room with a ceiling 50 ft high and and floor 100 foot wide and a seeming endless length. Then, she began to be more aware. Her heart missed a beat. And by the looks glossing their faces, Victor and Raven had noticed it too.

The floor was like a giant draining rack, only lots of little drains. And some could obviously by taken out to reveal what was lying beneath...

and Kori then found out where the light was coming from. Beneath these removable drains... were people. Her best friends, her worst enemies, were curled up in silicon sacks like foetuses in the womb, only fully grown teenagers. Blue lights illuminated their faces, revealing every shadow. You know when children hold torches under their chins and look so terrifying. That's what it was like. Some were still, others writhed in what looked like unspeakable agony. Electrodes protruded from nearly everywhere, as did tubes. It was so surreal... there were thousands of them.

Kori was about to throw up.

"Oh my God" So was Victor.

They heard a quiet clanking behind them, but none of the three found the power to move. It got closer and closer... and then stopped.

"Starfire, Mr. Stone, Ms. Roth. So glad you made it back so soon. You're the first, congratulations."


	8. Answers

_I'm sorry this took so long but I've been incredible busy. Please enjoy and review._

_I don't own TT .x.listentothepetals.x. _

* * *

Kori felt a cool hand gently hold her shoulder. Raven was half comforting her, half encouraging her to turn around. She took a deep breath, prepared for the plunge, and slowly turned around to face who or what was standing there. 

A man. Simply a man. He wore the same dark suit Victor wore, and Kori was absolutely certain he'd have the same tattoo they all had. He was thin, unhealthily so, with lines out of place on his relatively young face (He looked about 30ish). Any other time Kori would have felt sympathy for him, but instead a bubbling hatred started to consume her inside. A hatred formed from drowning misery. She hated this man. Inexplicably. Just like with Dishcloth Jake, but more impassioned.

"Come with me, I'll fill you in on your situation"

He spoke grey as well, like a complete robot. He turned around and began walking towards the other side of the room. That's when Kori realized what she was actually looking at. There was another floor a meter high, also seemingly made up of grates. A few steps up to it, then a stainless steel fence.

Kori jumped. Raven had grabbed her hand and begun to lead her to follow this man, but her hand was so cold Kori wondered if Raven was still alive, was her heart beating at all? With feet of lead Kori inched forward.

Noticing the lack of movement behind him, the Grey Man turned around and beckoned to them, but the ringing in her ears prevented Kori from hearing anything. Raven pushed her ahead, and in turn her frozen figure was pulled by Victor.

Up the stairs...

"Oh"

Kori put her hand over her mouth. She was literally winded by what she saw, all the air in her body forming the pathetic "Oh" escaping from her mouth.

There was only (And the only is only comparative) 50 gurneys, but upon them were writhing, frail bodies. Bodies whose muscles hadn't been used in about two years. Tubes still protruded from every hole, but the skin was wrinkled and pruned, pale and flaky. Fingers were tapping desperately against gurneys. They looked bloodless and corpse-like.

Along black, varnished metallic walls were doors, and at the end there was a large concrete door, with hazard tape across it.

_What was behind it? More mysteries..._

The Grey Man lead them to the third door on the right. Kori could see her reflection in the varnished wall. Any other girl would preen herself at the sight of such a weather-beaten, sagging face, but if anything it made her tired. All she wanted to do was sleep, sleep until this all went away, and she would wake up warm in her bed with all her friends a corridor away.

But that wasn't going to happen.

Within the third room there were seamless, varnished grey walls. The only light source was the roof; The roof appeared to be one large light bulb. There was a desk that appeared to be a very smooth concrete block, with a computer monitor built into it. Kori could only assume there was a chair on the other side. She noticed a pen bolted to the desk.

_That must be for the computer_

The Grey Man walked around the desk and sat down. As Kori got nearer she could see a grey, low-backed chair bolted to the floor. It was actually very tall, so he maintained a sense of superiority over them.

"Well, you must have many questions."

He didn't ask what they were. He simply made a statement. And he never looked them in the eye, he simply started opening windows on his computer screen.

Silence. Then...

"What was the device we found in the silo?"

"Ah, that. You see, whenever we let someone back into the wild we always leave that around. It helps them prove their worthiness, if you will. There really is no point to it, other than to try and get you young soldiers to come back. Believe it or not, you're the first that actually made it back. Apparently teenagers aren't as inquisitive as we give them credit for."

"What do you mean, 'the wild'?"

"That's a term this organization uses for reality. It's something very hard for us to control, thought not completely out of it, so therefore it is wild"

There was still no expression in his voice.

"What do you do?"

"We take privileged, able young children and improve them."

"Improve them?"

"We implant memories, control their surroundings, who they meet. We make sure they live as we want them too. You, Ms. Roth, have been raised in a near emotionless reality. We tried a completely emotionless state for 63 days, but your mind reached a critical point and we had to change or risk losing you. Right now, you _should_ be learning about your abilities. Unfortunately you proved to be a danger to this organization, so we aborted and dumped you near that silo, without an Inquisitor beeper. Congratulations on your return. Ms. Anders, however, has lived a completely different reality. We found that her naïvtey made it very simple to give her a very possible reality. She needed human interaction, or she wold go into a near catatonic state."

"Then what did you need me for?"

"STAR Labs is a large competitor of ours. You knew all their secrets, so we've been using you for you insider information. Once we'd taken it as far as we could go we began teaching you all we knew about engineering. You might not like to think so, but you're impressive mind has been responsible for many improvements to this organization. We taught you as much as we could, and now you are completed. We invited you to work here."

"Why do you need to improve us?"

"That's really none of our business. Someone will come in with a request, and we find the best subject for it."

"There's no way people would let you do this. We're people, not... 'subjects'!"

"They don't know. Obviously they're suspicious, but they are clever enough to ask no questions and therefore recieve none."

He said all this with not a flicker of the eye, nor a turn of the head. Kori remained silent throughout the entire inquiry, and stared into the averted eyes of this man. She couldn't do it for much longer. It was like staring at a doll, with empty eyes...

"Who funds who? I don't see how the government..."

"The government? Please, they're our best customers...

I'm going to leave now and allow you to talk amongst yourselves. I'll contact your customers."

He left the room, leaving the three stunned, speechless and silent, before Kori threw up on the floor.


	9. Names

_I know it's alot to take in, but I honestly have no idea what I'm doing..._

_I don't own TT .x.listentothepetals.x._

--------

Raven was sliding slowly to the floor. First knees, then palms. Her head hung forward. Her greasy hair fell across her face.

Victor had staggered over to Kori and held back her hair. She too had given way to the seemingly magnetic pull of the ground.

_So, who are we?_

They sat in silence for what was only about a minute, but felt like a truly unbearable eternity. It was a thick silence that none of them could breathe in, but none wanted to break. So...

"So... now what? What do we do?"

Raven stared at her hands. At least they were real.

"I don't know"

Then she stood up. She'd reached nadir. There was nowhere but up, so there was nowhere else to go from the floor but up.

"We're going to find BB. We're going to find Robin. We're getting out of here"

Victor looked confused, but that was to be expected.

She fell against the wall as she struggled to the door. She tugged on the door handle with Kori and Victor watching her through glazed eyes. It was locked.

"Damn" All too quietly.

In a moment of weakness, Raven screamed out loud. She hadn't done that since she was baby... she was sure of that.  
Her hand fell right through the handle and she lost her balance. Her eyes widened. As did Victor's, but not Kori's. She'd seen that before.

"Um..."

Raven anxiously moved her evanescent fingers. She stared at Victor and Kori, speechless.

"Put... put your hands through the lock..."

Raven turned her head towards Victor, her gaze focused and her hands steady. Her fingers brushed against the lock. Then... in the went.

_Click_

Kori took a breath of relief. Victor pulled her to her feet, and she wobbled over to the open door, regaining her balance. That's all she needed right now, balance. A bit of steadiness to match the dizzying insanity...

Raven opened the door just enough so it was ajar and peeked out, her bony cheekbone pressing against cool metal. Only a scattered few men in surgical masks were tending to the_ things_ on the gurneys. No _Grey Men_.

Kori heard Raven take a breath and watched as she shut her eyes. She could almost hear the gears whirring...

Raven carefully shut the door, but not before taking off her jacket and sticking the sleeve in between the lock to prevent it making a noise or re-locking.

"What is it you are do..."

"Shh"

She sneaked back to the computer and sat down upon the cold throne of the Grey Man.

"Victor, do you know Robin?"

"Who? Um, no"

"Kori? Do you know Robin?"

"Of course."

"What was his name? His real name"

Kori struggled to remember...

"Um... Kcid... Dick... Richard! Richard... Grayson... Richard Grayson"

Raven used the pen to open a window on the desktop. It was the only one on it. Kori couldn't help notice the desktop background was just grey... The window was called database. After clicking on it a page with just two windows on it appeared: 'Buyers' and 'Subjects'. She double-clicked on 'Subjects'

There was a quiet clicking noise as the next page loaded. And loaded. And loaded...

There was a near eternal list of names, listed by 'last name, first name'. There had to be entire countries of people on this list. Kori couldn't see an 'Anders, Kori' though. Luckily there was a search button at the top. Raven typed 'Grayson, Richard'. There it was, alone on the page. She double-clicked.

There were two pictures... one real, one simulated. The real one showed a head and neck, and was black-and-white. His skin looked pale, or that could just be an illusion created by the contrast between it and his jet black hair. Electrodes protruded from his head, and he was bruised. Badly. And unmasked.  
All of them had known what Robin's face had looked like for a while, but each one was unaware of the other's knowledge, and they all felt smug thinking that they were the first. The simulated image was coloured, and of the whole body. Robin had the same basic face, but he was stronger. And taller, it seemed. He wore a black mask covering more of his face than the one Kori knew, and he wore a black suit. Not a business suit, mind you. It was a black shirt with a tight black jacket and fitted black pants with black sneakers. He looked like a thief.

The pictures took up the top right hand corner of the page. On the left of that was his history. It was long, and Kori longed to read it. Raven, however, didn't seem to want to. She scrolled down the page until she reached 'Position'. _-Row 284, Capsule 11.-_

She pressed back and wrote in 'Logan, Garfield'. She didn't know how, but she was sure that that was his name. His real name.

She clicked on the name and her skipped a beat when she saw his -three- photos. These three were all in colour. The first one to the left was of a very young Garfield, holding a fishing rod. The quality was not nearly as good as the next two. He was blond, blue/green eyed, tanned skin. He seemed to be at a small lake. In the background she saw veld. He must've been in Africa.The next photo was the green boy Kori had known in her simulation. He had the same elven ears, massive bush-baby/cat eyes. He, like Robin, seemed to have been beaten severely. His button nose was broken. _-Postion: Row 287, Capsule 17-_

"We know where they are now. Come on, let's go" Victor was impatient, with reason. Grey Man 1 could be back at any time.

"Wait"

Raven bit her lip and stared at her hands. They seemed to flicker, in and out of transparency. When the transparency was continuous, she reached into the desk and pulled out the laptop from it's fixtures. The wires came unplugged.

"May we go now? Is it safe?"

"No, Starf... Kori. It's not. But we're going anyway. We'll always do it anyway"


	10. Air

Don't own TT, and I know this is far from the best chapter I've written but I'm sure you needed reassurance that I hadn't given up on the story.

Had SATS, needed to study .x.listentothepetals.x.

* * *

Raven inched the door open, until it was just open enough for her thin frame. She kept low, and once she was safely out of sight and down the short flight of stairs, Victor went after her, body well under anyone's line of sight, under the gerneys. His eyes were tightly shut... he simply couldn't risk looking up and seeing a friend writhing on gerney.

Kori watched them disappear. There were two reasons why they were going one at a time. One: If one of them got caught, there was still hope for the other two. That's just how they were. Secondly, this way Kori got to go last. As much as she wanted to help her friends, she couldn't bare looking at those faces and knowing they couldn't see her back... not her. The real her.

Down she crept... tentatively... past the gerneys... past the first rows of sacks... down to row 284.

11 cells in floated Robin, in a calm equilibrium. Kori wished she knew whether to feel sorry for the state he was in, or sorry for what he was soon to learn.

Oh God. This was Robin. This was really him, it was really truely him. His black hair floated in the cytoplasm. His hands were pruny. His muscles looked weak and ropy.

_Of course. He's never used them_

Raven's eyes were focused and frowning.

"We didn't think very far ahead, did we? How do we get him out of this thing?"

Kori had a feeling Raven wasn't really addressing her or Victor. There was really only one person Raven could trust for advice, and that was Raven.

"Perhaps there's a drain beneath it, or something..."

"No, it's just a sack. We could just pull it from the stabilizer, but we can't disconnect him from those tubes. They're what's keeping him alive..."

Kori felt pressure on her chest, increasing and increasing. She couldn't breathe. She needed to breathe. She needed to breathe now, someone help her. Oh God someone help...

Kori pulled up the draining rack and ripped at the cell wall. It was like tearing apart tissue paper.

_Air_

Thin gel came rushing out the sack, and Robin slowly sunk. The tubes were yanked from their places and gel leaked into the drain below, while Robin lay limp at the bottom. Barely breathing. Barely...

_He's not breathing_

Suddenly, he began to writhe and gasp. His chest expanded and collapsed, expanded again. He coughed, he wheezed, and the thee of them stood, frozen, not knowing what to do.

_He is going to die. Robin is going to die and it is all my fault_

Kori panicked, and then did the first thing that came to her head. She yanked him out the drain hit him on the back.

He fell limp.

_He did not_ just _die. I killed him... I killed him...  
_

Kori's heart skipped a beat. Then too. Then...

Rushing air. Beautiful air filled Robin's lungs. He was breathing. He was breathing.

Victor scooped him up in his arms.

"Let's get Gar"

"Mmm. B"

Raven lead the way, three rows down. 17 capsules in.

Raven felt winded. The "Oh no" that escaped her lips mainly consisted of the air that was in her lungs just moments ago.

The 17th capsule was completely empty.


	11. Space

_Sorry for the long wait, but I have been incredibly busy. Formal assessments, etc. Disgusting. And I know this is short but the next one is coming very soon. Please, please review. I need motivation to kick people off this communal computer_

_.x.listentothepetals.x. _

* * *

There was no time for a luxury like panicking. As the eerie blue lights refreshed into an imposing red, the three knew they had to move.

"Run"

It was barely a whisper, but without it there was little chance Kori would have moved.

They ran to the left wall and pressed their bodies against the wall. The three watched in agony as men in black bio-suits pulled down the ladder. Kori couldn't remember being so scared in her life.

_I__t will not be at all long before they find us. They shall find us. And then God knows what shall happen..._

Kori felt a lump rising in her throat. She really couldn't imagine a more terrifying situation. Oh God… someone help us.

And that was when Kori fell through space.


	12. Nightwing

I am so sorry this took so long, but I had summer vacation and now GCSEs, so I am completely swamped. Anyway, latest update for you. Please review.

* * *

Raven lifted Kori to her feet, her wiry fingers gripping Kori's strong upper arms.

"Is Richard alright?"

"He's fine. He's breathing"

Raven wrapped the jacket she'd been holding around Robin's grey frame. She noticed the skin around his fingers smoothing out, as if eroding. She beckoned to her friends, and the three timeless associates lifted the Boy Wonder to his feet.

"K... Kory? Rachel? Victor? What's happening?"

His voice rasped and was quiet with misuse.

"Robin! You are alright!"

Kori almost through her arms around him, could've kissed his face, but that would've been stupid. What if he didn't know her as she was, but as someone else? Someone he didn't like? Instead, she gripped his arms and looked into his eyes, his clear blue eyes.

"Robin? My name is Richard"

"And mine is Raven. I promise Kori will explain everything"

"I don't know if you know me, as in really me, but I'm really glad you're OK, man. So, Rae, where are we?"

Kori, still supporting Robin, swallowed in her surroundings.

"Is this Dish... Jake's house?"

"Yes, I think it is. It was the first place I thought of when I was panicking. I'll go find him"

"I don't know who this guy is, but I'll go with you, just in case"

Raven and Victor slipped upstairs out of the garage into the main house, leaving Richard and Kori alone.

* * *

"So, you are trained in various styles of fighting, and worked as one of Bruce Wayne's private bodyguards. You believe I am from Europe, and am also a bodyguard and a colleague of yours, and Raven and Victor... Rachel and Victor work in computing and engineering and BB-Logan worked as a vet and zoologist working on anti-toxins and biological weapons"

"And you are an impulsive, scantily dressed alien princess from Tamaran, with a murderous sister, and are a member of a group of teenage superheroes, of which I am a member. Rach... Raven is a half-demon, half-human creature person thing that can do things you can't describe, and is very distant and smart but 'nice'. Vic is a cyborg called Cyborg, who does, and I can quote, "Cyborg things", and is fun and energetic? Yeah, and Gar is human, but has a disease that gives him the ability to turn into any male animal of his choice"

"Yes"

"I gotta tell you, my timeline is a lot more... plausible than yours"

"But far more exciting"

"Yes, I guess. Although Bruce Wayne is really cool. We got to keep the gadgets after they became obsolete. Their definition of obsolete is not mine. But I guess since it wasn't real it was all obsolete"

"Mmm... who do you think sponsored you?"

"I don't know. Same person who might sponsor you?"

"No. We are very different. Our stories were created for purposes remember. Who do you think we were before we were kidnapped by the Grey Men? How long did we live?"

"I'm not sure. I was 28 in my world. Heh. I think I'm about 17 now. It's a bit of a blow to my ego. I worked for Bruce Wayne for 2 and a bit years before you rescued me, so maybe 2 and a bit years?"

"Mmm. Quiet, someone's coming"

The two slipped around behind the stairs. Kori took a harder look at Richard, now wearing discarded clothes he had found in a cardboard box in the corner, and realised he wasn't weak and skinny after all. His muscles had been used, for the were certainly strong and owned a wiry strength much like her own. Perhaps that's what they did on the gurneys. Rehabilitate.

A pair of greying, broken trainers descended the stairs. Then blue multi-purpose boots.

"Kori? Where are you?"

_Could not make a more fascinating inquiry if you tried..._

Richard pulled Kori out from behind the stairs and held out his hand to Jake.

"Richard. You?"

Jake limply took Richard's hand and let it flail.

"Jake. You can all stay here for the night, in my basement"

_Really, it's your basement? We had no idea... OK stop it that is just mean._

The four watched him ascend bake up the stairs, and lock the door behind him...

* * *

Ooh, suspicious. Review please. 


	13. Chaos and Treachery

Filler chapter, kinda, but still important. Enjoy and review.

* * *

"So, are any of us actually asleep?"

"No, but mainly because you never shut up. _Shut up_"

"No, you guys still don't know my whole story"

"Yes Vic. Yes we do. We can recite it backwards. Go to _sleep_"

"If you two are just gonna talk why don't we talk about something useful? What about Garfield, why didn't you rescue him?"

"He was not there. We do not know where he is. I hope he is alright"

"G's strong, he can take care of himself"

"You mean your simulation was strong. For all we know he could be the little twerp I knew"

"Raven, you and I share stories. Beast Boy was not a twerp. He was simply... annoying. To you"

"Mmm. Truly a revelation. _Now can we all shut up and go to bed?"_

_Thump_

"Apparently not"

The thin slat of blue light that shone through the space between the basement doors blocked out. Feet thumped overhead.

The four friends carefully slipped out of their sleeping bags, and in Victor's case, off the work table. Carefully, three of them slipped into defensive positions learned through training; Richard behind the stairs, holding a jack, Raven behind the car with a nail gun and Kori behind the workman's bench, with a wrench, next to Victor. And his massive, sturdy biceps.

Then... _bang_. 10 men kitted out in the optimum offensive suit. Armoured, bulletproof, helmeted... holding substantial guns. From their helmets a thin beam of light protruded, crawling over the furniture and tools lying around. There also appeared to be a camera. They quietly began to search.

"They should be here. I put them here"

Grey treacherous perfidious villain

Slowly they passed by each hidden person. Then...

"Hey, I found something"

Red light reflected back into the armed attacker's face from Victor's eye as the beam of light hit it. Before he lifted his arm to fire, a luminescent-green _'bullet'_ pierced his visor, and he staggered back, screaming in anguish.

"Go. Move out!" Richard hoarsely yelled from behind the stairs. The gun's lifted, the jack smashed, nails shot and a wrench was flung into the midst of the chaos.

Victor and Richard made for the stairs, only to have them blocked off by Jake, wielding a massive stun-gun.

"You are causing a great inconvenience"

He then fired, winding the two and sending them hurtling down the stairs.

"Raven! Do that thing!"

But she couldn't here Vic's cries. She had grabbed a long mirror and smashed it over some assailant's head. The shards sliced her face.

"Why are they not shooting us?"

"They can't kill us. We're worth too much" Raven quietly whispered. With this realisation, she picked up a particularly large shard and rammed it into the neck of an ill-fated aggressor. Then, concentrating with every fibre of her being, imagined him somewhere far away. Antarctica.

Amongst his pained screams, he vanished.

Kori saw this, but it appeared to have slipped everyone else's attention.

"Raven, get us out of here. Please"

Kicking aside a man with a wrench in his back, she staggered towards the boys and pulled them towards Raven.

She didn't think of a place. She thought of a person. And as a net fell atop them, she whispered his name: "Beast Boy"

And the net fell upon unoccupied space.

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Basically a bridge-chapter. Review. 


	14. The New Teen Titans

Enjoy.

* * *

"I find your story way more plausible now"

They landed with a thump in the middle of Jump City Park, where all this began. They all struggled to their feet, bruised, weak and covered in blood, but relieved. They were alive and safe.

If only for a short while.

Richard steadied Kori, who was swaying like a grass blade in the breeze with dizziness.

"He... Hello? Is anyone there?" Raven asked her voice steady, hands shaking. It was midnight, and she couldn't see a thing.

There was a rustle in the bushes, and the friends, unwillingly but surely, readied themselves for another fight.

"Show yourself"

Cyborg felt more confident now. If Starfire could shoot bullets, and Raven flew, and Richard could do all that amazing karate stuff (Completely different to the science geek the called Dick in his story), maybe he could be utilized in some abnormal way too. And he was just as ready for a fight as the other three. Just as good.

The rustling intensified, and then...

A dark tiger soared from the bush (Which, incidentally, was much too small to hide a tiger) and pounced on Raven, sending her flying backwards.

Then, with all the eyes of her friends facing that direction, the tiger began licking Raven's face.

"Get off me you idiot. I know what you eat"

Garfield Logan stood up and offered his hand to the grounded girl, who held on tight as he lifted her to her feet.

"Hey" His ears twitched and his mouth beamed, and his green skin became far more noticeable as their eyes adjusted to the dim lights of the park.

"How are you, friend Beast Boy?" Kori leapt forward and threw her arms around the changeling, too happy he was alive to remember he may not even know she'd existed before presently.

"G... great" He tentatively patted Kori on the back, smiling at her affection for him.

"It's great to see you alive, G" Victor thumped Garfield on the back, and Richard firmly shook his one free hand.

Garfield beamed at this attention.

"Good to see you too"

He then shifted his gaze to Raven, standing arms crossed at a short distance. He raised his eyebrows expectantly and turned up the smile.

"Oh God, you're alive. I mean, _thank God you're alive_" Raven smirked at his fake-crestfallen face and puppy dog eyes.

"Heh, glad to see you too Rae"

"So you do know us, you're not just using us for affectionate hugs and kisses?"

"I know you now. I'll have you know I escaped from ITP first, 'coz I'm just that amazing"

"When did you escape?"

"_How_ did you escape?"

"Okay I didn't actually escape from ITP. I escaped from my sponsor and I've been researching about you guys"

"What do you mean?"

So Garfield Logan poured out his latest memories for his 'oldest' friends.

In his story, he had been born a green mutant, and disowned by his family for being a freak. He then joined a vigilante group of 'freaks' that performed anti-hero duties, like killing convicts escaped from prison, or killing drug dealers, or killing gangs of people involved in organized crime. Lots of killing, lots of practise.

They were sponsored, in his mind, by a kind, gentle man, who loved Garfield more than anything. His name was Nicholas Galtry.

"The group was us. We called ourselves the Teen Titans. But then I was, sort of... killed, I guess, by Deathstroke. The Terminator? I'll tell you later."

He awoke to a probe on a gurney, then was given to his sponsor, Nicholas Galtry, who wanted to use his powers to create biological-chemical weapons, and to brainwash him into committing crimes for him, and if that failed and Gar died, Galtry would inherit his fortune. Stupidly Galtry left Gar's file on his desk, open, and it was stolen by the changeling, who then put it upon himself to run.

His file said he had been born to Mark and Marie Logan, and had caught a disease in Africa, and it's serum gave him the ability to alter his DNA into any creature he wanted, with the side-affect of a green pigment.

His guardian is Galtry, a man as near as you can get to evil, who hated Garfield and merely wanted his inheritance.

After his parents died in a boating accident, he worked for the Doom Patrol in America, and became the legal adopted son of Rita Farr and Steve Dayton of the Patrol, after they win a court battle against Galtry.

According to the file this is when Galtry realises Gar's potential and contacts the ITP for his mental training.

"After that I decided I had to find you. I've been researching all of you and the ITP, and everyone I can remember, including the villains we fought.

Cy, you are the son of the Silas and Elinore Stone, scientists at S.T.A.R. Labs. You were hurt in the same scientific experiment that killed your real mom, and your dad built you a prosthetic body. ITP covered it in latex skin, but you are a cyborg. It's really cool, actually. You don't actually have a sponsor, you were made to work for them...

Raven.."

"I know exactly what my history is. What's Star's?"

"Starfire was born on Tamaran and was meant to be their next queen or something like that, but then you were given to the... um... City Bells? Citadel... yeah that's it, as a peace offering. Then you were captured by the Psions who experimented on you and gave you starbolts. Your sponsor is K... I don't know what that means... but yeah.

Dick, you are a circus freak"

"Thank you"

"Seriously. You're parents died in an accident..."

"It wasn't an accident. It's OK, Garfield, I know my history too"

"So... um, you wanna come to our hideout? It's really cool, there's a whole bunch of us, even The Terminator's daughter! But, um, we might kind of... die. We're trying to bring justice and stuff, but are kind of getting our butts kicked, and there is a chance you guys might die if you come with us. Are you still in?"

"Are you insane? Of course I'm in. I'm your best friend"

"I'm in too. If anyone gets hurt, I'd rather it not because I wasn't there to help"

"I'd die for the truth, die for the fight"

"I would die for any of you"

And that is how the New Teen Titans came about. And this is where the real fight begins.

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Review please. 


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